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Spain-loving Brits choose to spend summer in Barcelona

Barcelona has topped the list of summer destinations favoured by British holidaymakers for the second year in a row this year, according to research by Barclaycard.

Focusing on the particular interest Brits have for travelling to European destinations this year, the study listed the top locations for a summer holiday as the pound remains strong against the Euro.

With more than 40% of UK’s retail and credit and debit card transactions being processed by Barclaycard every month, they had all the data needed to analyse consumer spending and holiday habits.

Popular cities abroad

The survey found that more Brits hoping to experience a new culture (and a little sunshine) are favouring cities in Europe including Paris, Dublin and Rome.

Outside of Europe and New York also proved quite popular; ranking in the top 10 favoured destinations and up three positions from last year.

Dubai also crept up nine places in the ranking from 2014 and achieved seventh position overall.

Interestingly, Turkey also featured in the top 10 preferred destinations despite its economic concerns with Mulga a particularly popular destination.

Greece, however, didn’t share Turkey’s luck and failed to make the top ten. This suggests that Brits remain wary of the ongoing economic situation currently taking hold of the country.

Overall the top five locations favoured by Brits this summer were:

Barcelona

New York

Paris

Dublin

Rome

Increase in spending

Barclaycard also recorded a general increase in Brits’ spending while on holiday with overall travel expenditures (including air fares and hotel fees), up 7.5% during the first six months of 2015.

This is a considerable growth on last year when spending rose 2.5%.

Cash spent on food, drink and shopping whilst abroad was also up by 13% this year while hotel spend also rocketed by 7.8% compared to just 4.5% in 2014.

Chris Wood, Chief Operating Officer at Barclaycard, explained the strength of the pound against the Euro has helped European cities dominate the list of top destinations for Brits this year.

And with holiday spending growing 13% year-on-year he said that we can clearly see that British consumers are feeling more comfortable about splashing their cash overseas. If you’re thinking of making a trip to Barcelona this year, check out these top money saving tips first